Chapter 1: Why? I had to get away from you…

Me and girlfriend were on a date. We played video games together, had lunch, went on a walk at the park, had some ice cream, had dinner and cuddled. She looked at her watch, it was past nine.

"I have to go, Randy's expecting me." She said

Apparently, she had another boyfriend. She couldn't break up with him.

"Go then, if you'd rather stay the night with him." I said.

"Sorry…" she said.

She had made me become jealous. Most of the time we were together, but she slept with him. Don't call her a slut, because she's not. She's surprisingly still a virgin. Randy and she loved each other, but not intimately. I then said something I shouldn't have.

"If you would pick between me and Randy who would you pick?" I asked.

"I…don't know." She said.

She then ran out of my apartment.

"Katherine!" I said, a bit annoyed at her and myself. I ran after her.

But she didn't hear me, or pretended not to. She ran into the elevator. I ran after her, entering the other elevator. I pushed the down button.

"Shit!"

I went to the parking lot near my apartment. I saw her car was still there. She went up and took the bullet train.

"Damnit!" I said. I called her phone, she wouldn't answer. "Grr…"

Next morning I woke up. I saw a message on my mobile phone. I put my face in my hands, sobbing. She had broken-up with me. I stayed in my apartment that day, burning every picture I had of her. When I saw my favorite picture of her, I couldn't burn it. I went out of the apartment and into a jewelry shop. I had put her picture in a locket when I suddenly saw Randy and Katherine walking together, each holding an ice cream cone. I was filled with jealousy again. When they were gone, I ran. I ran around the city. When I saw a poster…

'Join the UNSC and help save Earth' the poster said.

After a few hours of running and being yelled at (I was almost run over by a car, two times…) I was turned from civilian to marine.

"Are you sure, kid? You're awfully young." The recruiter asked. (I was just 19)

"Yeah" I said.

"OK, just put your fingerprints here and go the the nurse so she can take a blood sample of you." He said, with a grin.

I did what I was told.

Two days later I was called up by the recruiter. The newly recruited were going to be brought to Reach. I was told to go to the base camp to go onboard a ship that would take me to Reach. The recruiter told me just to pack my important belongings and leave the rest to my relatives. I brought my Microhard Xcicle, a funny book Hairy Potty, a picture of my family, and the locket with Katherine's picture in it.

The rest of my stuff, I gave to the owner of the apartment. I have lived there for four years so we had learned to trust each other. All my relatives were dead, they lived in a space colony that was invaded by the Covenant. The whole family was supposed to go to that colony, but I stayed behind, because of Katherine. Hell, had a few fights because of that.

I bid my farewells and went to the base camp, by foot. I walked for two miles. When I got to the base camp, going towards the entrance of the ship, I saw someone I never expected.

Katherine…

She pleaded me not to go. But I didn't listen, I didn't even look at her. She started crying. My heart felt like it was shattered glass and was being ground into fine sand. The sergeant named Johnson yelled at me: "Faster Marine!" I ran into the ship. As the ship hovered up, I heard Leighe cry.

"Why!?"